Errors and inconsistencies in the Edge Chronicles
This is a page on things stated in The Edge Chronicles that don't add up due to contradictions in another part of the series. How much phraxdust did Vilnix make? In Stormchaser, the Caterbird told the story of how Vilnix discovered phraxdust. He only ever managed to smash one crystal of stormphrax into praxdust, and it was only enough to fill about half a jar. We know that at least 30 thousand people escaped Undertown during Freeglader, but the population was probably more like 40-50 thousand people during Stormchaser, because a large number died during the Second Age of Flight. It's impossible for such little phraxdust get shared out among so many people. How many horns did the tilder in Doombringer have? There are at least three varieties of tilder, those with two, three or four horns/antlers. On page 165 of Doombringer, a herd of "thousands of triple-horn tilder" was eaten by a group of several hundred logworms. However, in the illustration on the same page, the tilder are shown to have four horns each. Which subspecies of tilder are these then? When was the Sumpwood Bridge of Hive built? On page 74 of The Immortals, it says "the bridge had been constructed almost two hundred years earlier." However, on page 314 of the same book, The Professor says "It was built three hundred years ago." One (or both) of these dates is incorrect. Were Maris' sky-crystals different to those used by sky pirates? In The Curse of the Gloamglozer, Maris makes a mosaic out of sky crystals her father made in the Ancient Laboratory. They were made during Linius' "preliminary experiments" and there were four different colours: red, yellow, green and purple. It is clear they didn't emit light because Maris says: "The fading light was making it difficult for her to see the exact colours of the sky-crystals." Sky crystals were also an essential tool for sky pirates. Two crystals would glow when close to each other, and produce sparks when struck together. These were clearly in use before Linius created any, since Storm Weezit was once forced to use his to light an ironwood beacon. The first kind of crystals were only described in The Curse of the Gloamglozer (2001), and the second kind were first mentioned in The Last of the Sky Pirates (2002), but they also appear in many of the following books. This means that the authors probably just forgot about the first kind, and made up a new kind of more interesting crystals for the later books. Several inconsistencies between Twig leaving New Sanctaphrax for Riverrise and him leaving the Skyraider at Wilderness Lair In ''The Lost Barkscrolls'', it says Twig stayed with the slaughterers for 4 years (45-49 E.Y.) However, in The Last of the Sky Pirates, there is no mention of Keris, or Twig's stay with them. Instead, he says he sailed for 16 years. There isn't a 16-year gap in the timeline that fits this, before or after his stay in the slaughterer village. Also, Twig claims he was present for the deaths of all 7 of his crew members. According to The Slaughterer's Quest, Twig's crew continue on, leaving him with the slaughterers because he is ill. They returned several times, but he repeatedly told them he'd catch up, delaying his departure. So how did he find them again, after staying with the slaughterers for 4 years? How did the crew of the ''Skyraider'' cope without a captain for such a long amout of time? There were only 4-7 of them, smaller than a usual crew, and Twig himself said "Flying the sky ship without a stone pilot had been difficult." So it would've been almost impossible to fly with so few hands, as well as no stone pilot or captain. All of these can easily be explained by the fact that The Slaughterer's Quest was written in 2006, 4 years after The Last of the Sky Pirates, so the authors only thought of Keris and the slaughterers after The Last of the Sky Pirates was finished. How did Thaw Daggerslash make it to the Great Shryke Slave market? In Clash of the Sky Galleons, Thaw Daggerslash meets Wind Jackal and his crew at the Great Shryke Slave market and says that his skyship was stolen by Turbot Smeal. This ship is later found at an abandoned shipwreck - and when Wind Jackal enters it with Thaw, he gets killed by Smeal. However, we learn later that Smeal actually has been dead for years and Thaw himself placed his ship there as part of his plan to assassinate Wind Jackal. But how did he make it to the Slave market after this? What was Quint holding on to when dangling with Maris atop the Loftus Observatory in The Winter Knights? In Freeglader, Rook Barkwater saw Quint rescuing Maris in his cocoon dreams, and Quint was hanging on to a balustrade. However, when this same event occured during the events of The Winter Knights, Quint was actually holding on to the handle of a door leading from the north gantry of the Loftus Observatory. When was the Stone Pilot rescued? During the Twig trilogy, it was mentioned multiple times that Maugin was rescued during Quint's later years as the sky pirate captain, Cloud Wolf. However, during the events of Clash of the Sky Galleons, she served as the Stone Pilot aboard the Galerider, and it was specifically stated that Quint had rescued her very recently, roughly a few weeks after he had rescued Tem Barkwater. Clash of the Sky Galleons took place nine years before the time that she was supposedly rescued according to the Twig trilogy. What was the name of Wind Jackal's wife? During the Rook trilogy, Wind Jackal's wife was referred to as "Hirmina Verginix". However, during Clash of the Sky Galleons, her name was spelled "Hermina Verginix". It is likely a typo on the part of the latter book. Did Rook really discover and name Snickets? During the events of The Last of the Sky Pirates, Rook supposedly discovered a new species of creature in the Deepwoods. He named these creatures, "Snickets", and he was supposedly the first one to classify them. However, during Clash of the Sky Galleons, which took place over seventy years before Rook's journey to the Free Glades, Wind Jackal made a brief reference to Snickets. Additionally, in Clash of the Sky Galleons, Quint encounters a famous Sky Pirate named Sleet Snicket. This seems to indicate that Snickets may have been discovered and named already, however Snicket is both a real surname and a word. What was the time period between The Winter Knights and Quint leaving The Knights Academy? On the timeline featured in The Lost Barkscrolls, it showed the difference between "The terrible winter freezes Sanctaphrax" and "Quint storms out of the Knights Academy..." as two years. However, in Stormchaser, during the Caterbird's tale of Quint's inauguration ceremony (the point in his life in which he left the Knights Academy), it was mentioned that Screedius Tollinix had set off on his stormchasing voyage about nine years previously, but he was known to have set out during the terrible winter. Who was the last Knight Academic to set off on a stormchasing voyage before Quint stormed out of the Knights Academy? During the Caterbird's tale in Stormchaser it is stated by Vilnix Pompolnius that it had been about nine years since 'the last knight academic, Screedius Tollinix set off on a stormchasing voyage.' However, in The Winter Knights we see further knights academic-in-waiting knighted and sent stormchasing after Screedius Tollinix leaves. What damage did the Scrapewort Berry cause to those who ingest it? Scrapewort Berries are known to be poisonous, but there are inconsistencies about what effect they have on their victims. In Beyond the Deepwoods, the Scrapewort Berry was said to bring those who eat it out in a warty blue rash that never goes away. It was implied there that the berry is not a fatal poison. However, in Vox, it was stated that half a dozen Scrapewort Berries contained enough poison to kill a fully grown Hammelhorn, and this fact was used in such a way as to suggest that the berries were even more harmful to more civilized creatures. Did Vilnix Pompolnius ever know his family? During the events of The Winter Knights, Vilnix Pompolnius was said to have been abandoned as an infant and raised by a drunken Greywaif in the Undertown sewers, until Vilnix became clever enough to strike out on his own. However, in Stormchaser, Vilnix repeatedly thought of old sayings his grandmother used to say, suggesting that he had known his family. This is presumably a lapse of memory on the part of the authors. Or it's possible that Vilnix may have thought up the sayings on his own, but out of sorrow for himself, pretended he had an evil grandmother. Which Laboratory was the Gloamglozer created in? During the events of The Curse of the Gloamglozer, the Great Laboratory was said to be where the Earth-Scholars conducted their studies and the Ancient Laboratory was where the First Scholars attempted to create life. Linius Pallitax attempted to recreate the experiment with ghastly results. However, in The Winter Knights, it was repeatedly stated that Linius attempted to recreate the First Scholars' experiments in the Great Laboratory. This was most likely just an error, either in the writing or the publishing of the book. What happened to the Skyraider after Twig's mutiny? During the events of Midnight Over Sanctaphrax, Twig seized control of the sky ship, the Skyraider, from Thunderbolt Vulpoon, arranged for the slaves onboard to sail back to Undertown, and, at the end of the book, sailed away in the Skyraider to relocate his crew at Riverrise. Later, during The Last of the Sky Pirates, Twig was said to have left the Skyraider at Wilderness Lair. Many years after that, Twig and Rook used the Skyraider to attack the Tower of Night, and the ship was destroyed in the process. However, during Freeglader, the Skyraider was shown to be in the possession of Thunderbolt Vulpoon's son, Deadbolt Vulpoon, grounded in the Armada of the Dead with a rotten flight-rock. It is possible that Deadbolt Vulpoon simply named his ship after his father's ship, but it has never been explained. What was the gender of Maris's pet lemkin? During the events of The Curse of the Gloamglozer, Maris had a pet lemkin named Digit. During the course of that book, Digit was referred to as a "she". However, in Clash of the Sky Galleons, Maris referred to Digit as "he". Presumably, the authors merely forgot Digit's gender, as he/she was not a very important character. Why the change in direction of the Gloamglozer rock between Clash of the Sky Galleons and Freeglader? In clash of the Sky Galleons, the first chronological appearance of the rock , as depicted by one of Riddell's illustrations, sees it facing over the edge. Yet by the time of Freeglader, when Rook is being blown towards the edge by the Stormphrax Storm, he sees the rock's face rearing up before him as he approaches. How old was Cowlquape in Midnight Over Sanctaphrax? During chapter five, Cowlquape's first appearance, he is described as being "barely fifteen years old", but according to the timeline, Cowlquape was born in 23EY, which would make him only thirteen during the events of Midnight Over Sactaphrax. Whether the error rests in the timeline or the novel is debatable, but it could be that the writers decided after Midnight Over Sanctaphrax was written, that Twig treating Cowlquape so much younger - repeatedly calling him "lad", and generally acting as a worldly-wise older brother - was not justified with just one year of difference in age between them. How many arms did Rogg have? In Freeglader, the Flat-Head Rogg is described as being'' "one-armed" during the Battle of Lufwood Mount. However, later on in the same passage, it is told of how the same Rogg (a former Undertowner) carried a ''"Lugtroll under one arm, and a portly gabtroll and her babe-daughter under the other" ''up Lufwood Mount. If there is a ship called ''Great Sky Whale - is there also an ocean in The Edge? In Cloud Wolf - Quint, Wind Jackal et al participate in a famous battle with Great Sky Whale - however no mention is made of where a whale might live, were it to exist in Edgelife. There may be some whale-like creatures living in the Edgewater River. In post 30 of Weird New Worlds Phineal Glyfphith mentions huge lakes in the far reaches of The Edge. Where did the Rock Demons from the Rook Trilogy come from? In a ravine in Screetown, there are creatures called Rock Demons. Where were they before Screetown was created? It is highly unlikely they were already underground in Undertown. What does Steg Jambles look like? In ''Clash of the Sky Galleons'' Steg Jambles is young, thin and of average height. However, in Cloud Wolf he is short and fat with greying hair. When did the Time of Enlightenment take place? Two opinions have been heard, In Curse of the Gloamglozer, ''Linius Pallitax said that the Gloamglozer was banished and destroyed during the Time of Enlightenment ''after the the first arrival of the Mother Storm, while in Midnight of Sanctaphrax, ''the Time of Enlightenment took place before the arrival of the Mother Storm. Who was holding the wheel on the Stormchaser during the Great Storm? In chapter 9 of ''Stormchaser, it states that Hubble was holding the wheel while Cloud Wolf adjusted the levers, but the illustration shows Cloud Wolf holding the wheel. Where is Sanctaphrax's fire brigade? In The Curse of the Gloamglozer, the Palace of Shadows in Sanctaphrax catches fire. Though the populace assemble nearby to watch the blaze, there are no attempts to douse the flames, and the lowly caretaker Tweezel is left to rescue the High Academe. This is despite the fact the Palace is depicted as being very close to the buildings around it, meaning the fire could potentially have spread throughout the city. Are there two Magdas? Xanth Filantine seems to have married Magda, presumably Magda Burlix, but Rook's wife is referred to as Magda as well. Either there are two of them, or it's a misconception, which leaves open the question of who Rufus Filatine's mother is. What happened to Woodfish? In Weird New Worlds, it is Woodfish who saves Forden Drew, Goom having wandered off to a Great Convocation. But in the Cade Saga it's Goom who saves Cade and Woodfish is not even mentioned. Did the authors just forget about him because he 'already died' in the parallel universe that is WNW or will he reappear in The Descenders? Nondestructible Fogscythe The Fogscythe, a sky galleon which appeared for several times was a heavy two-master ship from the First Age of Flight. It was mentioned in Clash of the Sky Galleons that the Bringer of Doom attacked this ship first, and it “exploded into flames”. But later, in Freeglader we see the Fogscythe in the Mire, where the Armada of the Dead takes place. And the Fogscythe even had a crew – captain Henkel , quartermaster Quillet Pleeme, also Stegrewl, Myzewell, Brazerigg and four more persons. But if the ship exploded, how did it happened to remain unharmed and even have a new crew? Sure, in the time of ''Clash of the Sky Galleons''the crew must be another because many years are between these events. Category:Behind the Scenes